Small Museum, Big Reach

The Renaissance Society is a place where audiences can encounter new works of art for the very first time, and we are often asked what happens to the projects that we commission. As a non-collecting museum, the art we help to produce belongs to the artist. These works frequently enter into private or public collections and can be seen again in other exhibitions.

We are thrilled to share the news that three of our recent commissions have recently found homes in the collections of major international museums:

Tate Modern in London has acquired Kevin Beasley’s installation Your Face Is/Is Not Enough, produced in 2016 for the group exhibition Between the Ticks of the Watch.

The Museum of Modern Art in New York has acquired all 40 mixed-media panels that comprised Sadie Benning’s 2016 solo exhibition, Shared Eye.

The Art Institute of Chicago has acquired Mathias Poledna’s 2014 film, Substance, from his eponymous exhibition of the same year.

Executive Director and Chief Curator Solveig Øvstebø says, “It is a testament to the bold vision of the artists that these amazing works have gone on to such esteemed collections, and we are proud to have played a part in their genesis. When I came to the institution in 2013, I felt that where we could make the most impact was to give artists opportunities to pursue projects that they couldn’t elsewhere. The Ren may have a small physical footprint, but our faith in artists and their ideas means that our work plays a unique and vital role in the field of contemporary art and the broader cultural landscape.”

Under Øvstebø’s leadership, the Renaissance Society has focused its energies and resources on commissioning ambitious works of art. This effort has been fueled by the Next Century Fund, a major fundraising campaign launched in conjunction with our 100th anniversary in 2015, to date raising more than $4 million to support the production and presentation of new artworks.

Donations of any size to our Next Century Fund directly support the production and presentation of new art. To make a gift, please visit our Support page.

THE RENAISSANCE SOCIETY

at the University of Chicago
5811 South Ellis Avenue
Cobb Hall, 4th Floor
Chicago, Illinois 60637